“Three Parts” LP from Cejero label in Denmark – $23 – mastered by Rashad Becker – U.S. sales only, others inquire before orderingBuy It Here“Now the previously unreleased material recorded in El Cajon, California, 1991 is ready for release via Denmark’s Cejero. The three pieces are among Turman’s most hypnotic and sparse recordings. Layers of mystical tones wind in and out of each other in off-center patterns, creating a simple, yet spatial and truly unique atmosphere. No one but Robert Turman could have created this music.” – Cejero –

“Three Parts” is released in an edition of 500 copies on black vinyl in reversed cardboard covers, which features a drawing by Belgium artist Henri Jacobs.”

Way Down reissue LP from Spain on clear vinyl – $23
Way Down reissue CD from Russia, in jewel case – ON SALE! – $10
U.S. sales only, others inquire before orderingBuy It Here“Turman released a number of cassettes over the course of the 80s, drawing on a wide range of experimental techniques. On Way Down, first released on Actual Tapes in 1987, he combined the psych noisy industrial drone aesthetic he was best known for with a spry, danceable minimal synth sound, albeit one fleshed out with guitars, pianos, tape loops and samples.

Cold, but not too dark, with a reliance on melody not expected from this area of music. It’s a great record, murky as hell but also engaging and accessible. Robert Turman is one of the most underrated figures to come out of industrial music’s earliest days. “Way Down” is a cold 80’s freak-out.” Elvis Von Doom

Spirals of Everlasting Change [2LP] – SOLD OUT – LuxembourgOriginally released in 1987 as a C60 cassette that came in a 5” reel-to-reel box. Now two heavy-weight pieces of 180g vinyl in a sturdy single sleeve. Ltd. 279 copies.

“Spirals was originally conceived in 1982 as two separate cassettes, each consisting of a series of seemingly random, yet carefully selected loops, usually one to three minutes long. The two cassettes were played simultaneously on small portable cassette machines, started randomly, so the interweaving of rhythms was different every time. Several years later, the two tapes were committed to a single mix, with overlays of sounds and tones to create melodies, connecting the rhythms, yet still leaving enough open space for the listener. Lonesome Echo was based on a long loop, with irregularly repetitive guitar and keyboard parts played over the top, with a dub-style mix. It was inspired by the solitude and melancholy of the Jackie Gleason album, Lonesome Echo. Lower World is an experiment using a 3-minute endless cassette, all tracks played with an electric bass. Slow counterpoint between the elements, to create an extended whole.” – Robert Turman

Flux – CD – $15 – Spectrum Spools – Austria – U.S. sales only, others inquire before orderingBuy It Here“Flux” is the 1981 debut solo outing of Robert Turman, an American multi-instrumentalist and avant-garde composer. Until recently, Turman was perhaps best known for his contributions to the ballistic NON project with Boyd Rice, as well as other obscured U.S. industrial acts such as Z.O. Voider.

In the summer of 1981 Turman decided he would take a drastic turn from the noisy/electronic/industrial work of his compatriots, and began work on what is now the classic “Flux” cassette. “Flux” was originally self-released in extremely limited numbers. Weary of the noisescapes of old, he set out to create long-form minimalism utilizing kalimba, piano, “Mini-Pops Jr.” drum machine, and tape loops to create a complex bed of interweaving micro-stasis’. The results of these new experiments were as beautiful as they were perplexing.
A curious dusty fidelity carries these classic tracks across four sides of vinyl, including all of the original “Flux” content. These compositions glow with a sprawling, slow motion haze that’s light years ahead of its time. “Flux” reveals wide spectrums of sound from melancholic kalimba and percussion patterns to slowed down, syrupy Exotica. Turman had complex ideas in his mind yet only the simple technologies of the day were at hand. Hear the click of the stopping and starting Tascam 3340 open-reel tape machine as one hand presses the “record” and “play” buttons and the other plays piano phrases. While there are similarities in style to Classical Minimalism, Turman’s sound and vision is his own and is exclusive to his limited discography. Lovingly remastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates and Mastering from the original c-60 cassette master.
Original cassette artwork and scans provided by Aaron Dilloway.

Originally recorded in 1990, these tracks did not see the light of day until 2010 when they were self released on a limited run of 100 professionally printed and duplicated CD-Rs. Beyond Painting follows in the footsteps of the recently reissued “Flux” cassette on LP (Spectrum Spools).